Heavy Metals and Arsenic Removal

High concentrations of heavy metals are an inevitable and detrimental byproduct of the mining production. P2W guarantees it’s clients to lower the levels of heavy metals and arsenics to regulation approved levels, by both design and operation.

For years, one of the byproducts of metal mining was the discharge of mining process water heavily loaded with high metals and arsenics. With the advantage of new and effective technologies P2W offers its clients a guaranteed and foul-proof way to keep the concentrations of heavy metals ( Cr, Pb, Ni, Zn. Mn etc…) and arsenics below the approved levels for discharge. This issue becomes more and more vital as a stricter policy is enforced by various regulator part of an effort to promote a more sustainable and environmental business environment for mining operations. We at P2W offer a guarantee to treat mining water, 24/7, always ensuring that the mining operation complies with both local and international wastewater discharge regulations. Our motto is: we take care of all wastewater treatment issues so that the client can focus on the mining business

Metals and metalloids are abounded in the waste water composition mainly due to the composition of the ore. The type and the concentration depend mainly on the ore type and the leaching process. The regulation around the world for heavy metals has become more rigorous in recent years and today the removal process is a required feature in all mining sectors.

Metals in the wastewater are usually found in their salt forms which lead to the fact that most of the metals are totally soluble in the liquid phase and are difficult to remove by simple filtration or other simple physical processes.

The efficient process to remove dissolved metals is the coagulation process. The common coagulation is the chemical coagulation which is cost effective but has 3 main disadvantages; (a) the chemicals create a byproduct of the process – a secondary pollutant in the water; (b) the sludge percentage is relatively and (c) the process is highly pH depended.

P2W has developed and operates a unique and patented electrocoagulation technology, designed to handle hundreds of m3/h of water and overcomes the above disadvantages of the chemical coagulation. The electrocoagulation process consumes electrical and pure metal electrodes. The average power consumption per cube is around 0.1-0.5 Kw and the period between the replacement of electrodes ranges between 6 to 12 months.

One of the advantages of our heavy metals removal process is its capability to change the metals’ form to a Hydroxide form that will settle immediately as a stable complex from the solution. The metals precipitate solids are removed in the form of sludge in the settling stage. The clean water can be reused for the mine’s needs or can be discharged back to the environment in a safe, authorized and ecological manner.